JPH056004A - Automatic exposing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily support a substrate to a vacuum stage, to improve the aligning accuracy of a photomask film and further to constitute an entire device to be miniaturized. CONSTITUTION:The substrate is placed on the vacuum stage 11 in a state where an aligning pawl 12 at a far end part in a carrying direction on the stage 11 is protruded, and then the substrate is alingned by the pawl 12 on the stage 11. Next, the photomask film which is supported on the upper surface of the stage 11 so as to freely move up and down is aligned with the substrate, and further a conveyor 13 is held between the stage 11 and a mask holder 14 and the gap between them is made vacuum, thereafter, exposure printing is performed by a light source device 17 which is supported to the upper surface of the mask holder 14.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to improvements in automatic exposure methods.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, an automatic exposure method as shown in FIG. 3 has been carried out. That is, the substrate is placed on the temporary substrate positioning mechanism 2 provided at the end of the exposure apparatus main body 1, the substrate is then transported to the vacuum stage 4 by the suction mechanism 3, and then provided on the upper surface of the vacuum stage 4. The mask holder 5 is lowered to align the substrate and the photomask film supported by the mask holder 5, and after a vacuum is applied between the substrate and the mask holder 5, the mask holder 5 is placed on the upper surface of the mask holder 5. The light source device 6 is used for the exposure.

[0003]

By the way, according to the above-described automatic exposure method, the substrate is placed on the substrate alignment mechanism 2 provided at the end of the exposure apparatus body 1, and then the substrate is vacuumed by the suction mechanism 3. 4 and then the mask holder 5 provided on the upper surface of the vacuum stage 4 is lowered to align the substrate and the photomask film supported by the mask holder 5, so that the entire apparatus becomes large, and There is a drawback that the work becomes complicated. Further, the substrate is placed on the temporary substrate positioning mechanism 2 provided at the end of the exposure apparatus main body 1, the substrate is then transported to the vacuum stage 4 by the suction mechanism 3, and then provided on the upper surface of the vacuum stage 4. The mask holder 5 is lowered to align the substrate and the photomask film supported by the mask holder 5, and after a vacuum is applied between the substrate and the mask holder 5, the mask holder 5 is placed on the upper surface of the mask holder 5. However, since the light source device 6 is used for exposure, there is a drawback that the device becomes complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to provide an automatic exposure method capable of easily realizing high alignment accuracy between a substrate and a photomask film with a small apparatus. To do.

[0005]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides the following automatic exposure method. That is, the substrate is transferred and placed on the upper surface of the vacuum stage with the positioning claw at the far end of the vacuum stage in the transfer direction protruding. Next, the substrate is provisionally positioned on the vacuum stage. Next, the substrate is aligned with the photomask film supported by a mask holder that is vertically movable with respect to the upper surface of the vacuum stage. Further, it is a method in which a vacuum state is provided between the vacuum stage and the mask holder while the conveyor is sandwiched between the vacuum stage and the mask holder, and then exposure is performed by a light source device arranged on the upper surface of the mask holder.

[0006]

According to the above-described automatic exposure method, the substrate is transferred and placed on the upper surface of the vacuum stage with the positioning claw at the far end of the vacuum stage in the transfer direction protruding, so that the substrate is supported on the vacuum stage. Is easy. Further, since the substrate and the photomask film are aligned and exposed and baked on the same vacuum stage, the entire apparatus can be made compact and the alignment accuracy of the substrate and the photomask film is improved.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The automatic exposure method of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. (A) First, with the positioning claw 12 at the far end of the vacuum stage 11 in the transport direction protruding, the vacuum stage 11
The substrate is conveyed and placed on the upper surface of the conveyor by the conveyor 13. Here, the vacuum stage 11 is configured in a box shape, and the positioning claw 12 is configured to move back and forth on the upper surface of the vacuum stage 11 in the XY axis directions. Further, the same position fitting claws 12 are configured to have, for example, a pair in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. Again conveyor 13
Is composed of a pair of narrow belts, and the vacuum stage 1
It is configured so as to move up and down by surrounding 1. (B) Next, the substrate is tentatively positioned on the vacuum stage 11 by the positioning claws 12, and thereafter, the substrate and the vacuum stage 11 are placed.
The photomask film, which is supported by the mask holder 14 that is vertically movable with respect to the upper surface of, is aligned. Here, the support 14 formed by tensioning the photomask film can be attached to and detached from the mask holder 14. 16 is, for example, a mask holder 1
4 is a positioning camera supported by a part of the substrate 4, and the substrate and the photomask film are aligned. (C) Next, a light source is formed by placing the conveyor 13 between the vacuum stage 11 and the mask holder 14 in a vacuum state between the vacuum stage 11 and the mask holder 14, and then arranging it on the upper surface of the mask holder 14. Exposure is performed by the device 17. Here, the light source device 17 is configured by mounting, for example, a 7.5 kilowatt metal halide lamp. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 18 is a transfer conveyor arranged at one end of the vacuum stage 11, and 19 is a carry-out conveyor arranged at the other end of the vacuum stage 11.

[0008]

According to the above-described automatic exposure method of the present invention, the substrate is transferred and placed on the upper surface of the vacuum stage with the positioning claw at the far end of the vacuum stage in the transfer direction protruding. The substrate is easily supported on the substrate. Moreover, since the position of the substrate and the photomask film can be aligned on the same vacuum stage, the accuracy of the alignment of the substrate and the photomask film can be improved, and it is special to align the position of the substrate and the photomask film. There is a peculiar effect that exposure work can be easily performed with a small apparatus without using a special alignment mechanism.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an automatic exposure apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged perspective view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a conventional automatic exposure apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Vacuum Stage 12 Positioning Claw 13 Conveyor 14 Mask Holder 15 Support 16 Positioning Camera 17 Light Source Device 18 Conveyor 19 Carry-out Conveyor

Claims (1)

Claim: What is claimed is: 1. A substrate is placed on the upper surface of the vacuum stage while the positioning claw at the far end of the vacuum stage in the transport direction is projected, and then the substrate is temporarily placed on the vacuum stage. After positioning, the substrate is aligned with the photomask film supported by the mask holder that is vertically movable with respect to the upper surface of the vacuum stage, and the conveyor is narrowed between the vacuum stage and the mask holder. An automatic exposure method, characterized in that a vacuum state is held between a vacuum stage and a mask holder in a held state, and then exposure is performed by a light source device arranged on the upper surface of the mask holder.